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Monday, January 04, 2010 TOKYO: With the New Year's holiday season almost over, many people resumed business on Monday (January 4), the first business day of the year, and offered prayers at a shrine in downtown Tokyo. Hundreds gathered at Tokyo's Kanda Myojin shrine, which enshrines a god of business, to pray for a better year in 2010. Many sat inside its main shrine to have their "evil spirits" driven away in a traditional rite. "Financial institutions seem to be gradually recovering, so I have high hopes that the economy may pick up this year. Well, life can be miserable without hope in the first place," said 48 year-old business owner, Yoshiharu Asanuma. Another visitor, Junko Asai, prayed for something more personal. "This year, I'd like to have a baby," said the 36-year-old asset management director. Meanwhile, one aquarium in Tokyo decided to take the country's New Year's tradition of wearing a kimono a step furthe

Monday, January 04, 2010 HONIARA: A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific on Monday, triggering panic but causing no major tsunami, disaster officials said. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 103 kilometers from the earthquake-prone island town of Gizo at about 9:36 am (2236 GMT Sunday) and was measured at a depth of about 30 kilometers (19 miles). It was the largest of a swarm of tremors centered on the area, ignited by a 6.5 magnitude quake at 8:48 am and followed several hours later by quakes of magnitude 5.3 and 5.2. On the tiny island of Rendova, near Gizo, several houses collapsed but there were no other reports of damage, Julian Makaa of the National Disaster Management Office told foreign news agency.

Monday, January 04, 2010 WASHINGTON: NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful, six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is in Martian sand. The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere. All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006 probably due to a worn out electric motor. Dead in its tracks, Spirit cannot shake off the Martian dust that is slowly accumulating on its solar panels, preventing its batteries from recharging. Unless the wind blows the dust away or, in a spurt of energy, Spirit can shift its inclination to better point the

Monday, January 04, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar" surged to a box office haul of more than one billion dollars globally on Sunday, faster than any other movie in history, an industry tracker reported. Aided by consecutive holiday weekends and pricey 3-D tickets, total domestic sales for the science fiction epic reached 352 million dollars and an eye-popping 670 million internationally, according to estimated figures by Exhibitor Relations. The astronomical performance since the movie's debut 17 days ago has already sealed its reputation as one of the most impressive box office performers of all time. "It was the fastest ever to the one-billion-dollar mark," with "Avatar" now the third biggest grossing film ever, behind "Titanic" (1997) and "The Return of the King" (2003), the final movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, box office analyst Chad Hartigan of Exhibitor Relations said. "Avatar" tel

Monday, January 04, 2010 ANGRA DOS REIS: Two nuclear plants close to a southern Brazilian town hit by landslides may shut down as a precaution, the mayor said Sunday, as the regional toll from deadly floods rose to 66. "There are no operational problems at Angra I and Angra II... but if landslides persist in the hills, we'll need to shut them down," Mayor Tuca Jordao told a press conference in this seaside town some 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Rio de Janeiro. Angra overlooks Ilha Grande island, where 29 people were killed in Friday's landslides, including 28 in a luxury hotel nestled at the foot of a jungle-covered hill. Another 15 people were killed in the center of Angra. The mudslides were triggered by incessant rains that have killed at least 66 people across Rio de Janeiro state since Wednesday and left dozens missing. More than 4,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, Civil Defense officials said. Rescue crews Sunday continued to search fo

Monday, January 04, 2010 SANAA: The United States and Britain promptly closed their embassies in Yemen on Sunday after learning an Al-Qaeda offshoot linked to a botched US airliner bombing is planning attacks on Western targets. US President Barack Obama has accused the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, of arming and training a Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines jet on Christmas Day. AQAP claimed responsibility for the failed attack and called for strikes on embassies in Yemen. "There are indications that Al-Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against (a) target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy," Obama's counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan said on Sunday. "So the decision was made to close the embassy. We're working very closely with the Yemeni government on taking the proper security precautions," Brennan said on media. The US embassy posted a statement on its website saying

 Monday, January 04, 2010 SYDNEY: Pakistan gained a big lead of 204 runs over the Aussies despite a collapse in the final session of the second day of the second Test match here at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. They lost seven wickets in the third and the last session of the day. At stumps, Pakistan were 331 runs for nine wickets with tail-enders Danish Kaneria (2) and Mohammad Asif (0) at the crease. Pakistan resumed at 14-0 in the morning and both openers, playing steadily added 70 runs in the first session and succeeded in reaching 100 without being separated after lunch. This was the second century stand between the pair of Imran Farhat and Salman Butt in Test cricket. However, the partnership was broken by spinner Nathan Hauritz when Imran Farhat was caught behind by Brad Haddin on an attempted sweep shot. Imran made 53, his 13th half-century in 32nd Test. He hit four boundaries in his 140-ball innings and together with Salman Butt made 109 runs. Later, Salm